Abstract

The history the Icon of the Kazan Mother of God is very complex. The miraculous picture was found in 1579 by a girl, who experienced a vision. The icon, known as the „Liberatrix and Protectress of Holy Mother Russia”, is one of the most important historical and religious symbols for Russian people. The picture was lost in the early XX century from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan in Moscow, most likely it was stolen and transported to Western Europe. The Kazanskaya spent some time in Fatima, before it was taken to the USA. Finally in 1994 the icon was delivered as a gift from American catholics to pope John Paul II. He recognized the picture as the holy icon of Kazan and kept it in his personal apartments. Since then the Holy Father wanted to present the Moscow Patriarchate, the legitimate owner, with the sacred picture. However, the Vatican wished to return the icon to Moscow during a papal visit in Russia. The patriarch Aleksij II of Moscow and all-Rus found it impossible to meet the Pope and therefore, had no claim to the Kazan icon. As a result the situation reached impasse. The matter reappeared in 2000 due to an audience with the Pope given to the mayor of Kazan,
Kamil Iskhakov, who wanted to restore the holy icon to the capital of the Tatarstan Republic. The Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate opened a discussion over the return of the icon. Representatives of Russian Orthodox Church had doubts about the authenticity of the icon held in the Vatican. For that reason a joint Russian-Vatican commission, appointed to verify the object, after a precise analysis in April 2003 reached a conclusion, that the icon was an 18th-century copy.
At the same time, an information appeared about Pope’s plans of pilgrimage to Mongolia. Furthermore, the press reported, that the Pope might make a brief stopover in Kazan on his way to Ulan Bator to return the icon personally. The representatives of Moscow Patriarchate strongly opposed the visit. In result, the Vatican abandoned the idea of the trip and declared the forthcoming return of the miraculous icon, without the Pope’s trip. The holy picture was returned to Russian Orthodox Church by a Vatican delegation on August 28, 2004. „This sacred icon appears as a symbol of unity” – wrote the Holy Father in a letter to His Holiness Aleksij II. The Patriarch thanked the Pope for making „the first step toward restoring brotherly relations”. The solemn exchange of gestures might be another step forward in the dialogue between the Roman-Catholic and Russian Orthodox Church.